August, 2019

• 21 August

  Russia’s last deadly nuclear mishap shows cover-ups becoming harder

  

  Bloomberg The shroud of mystery surrounding Russia’s latest deadly nuclear accident will become increasingly difficult to maintain once the data starts to roll in. That’s the lesson of a team of scientists who showed last month — days before the explosion that killed five Russians — that “a sizeable, yet undeclared nuclear accident” had occurred two years earlier in Russia, ...

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• 21 August

  Italy oppn may strike deal with Five Star

  

  Bloomberg Italian President Sergio Mattarella begins intensive talks with political leaders to determine whether a new ruling coalition is viable, as the head of one of the country’s main parties signalled willingness to explore a new parliamentary majority. An alternative government is one of two main options emerging for the head of state after PM Giuseppe Conte resigned little more ...

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• 21 August

  The China challenge is new Sputnik moment for the US

  

  One of the weirdest aspects of this year’s Democratic presidential campaign is that foreign policy, potentially one of President Trump’s most vulnerable issues, has been nearly absent from the debate. Trump is steering the country into a foolish trade war with China that has spooked the stock market, frightened farmers and fuelled uncertainty among investors at home and abroad. Without ...

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• 21 August

  Italian politics meet European rigidity

  

  Italy’s renewed political upheaval comes at a bad time for the European Union. The latest turmoil could all too easily become a full-blown economic crisis — one that might not be confined to Italy. There’s no quick way to fix the country’s politics. But the EU can resolve, at least, to avoid making matters worse. The latest alarm follows Deputy ...

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• 21 August

  Healthcare may not be stock haven it once was

  Recession fears and volatility are rearing their heads again, which means investors may look for safe havens. One path traditionally leads them towards health care, which has often been relatively insulated when equities are shaky and the economy takes a downward turn. People don’t stop getting sick, and safety net programs smooth consumption. America’s aging population means that spending might ...

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• 21 August

  China could use another Libor-rigging scandal

  Eighteen banks coordinating to calibrate a market-driven rate — cynics could be forgiven for thinking that another Libor-rigging scandal is around the corner in China. Perversely, such an outcome would be a good sign for its financial system. Over the weekend, the People’s Bank of China made the loan prime rate, which banks offer to their best clients, the new ...

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• 21 August

  Is the ECB poised to fire up the whirlybird?

  

  Negative mortgage rates in Denmark; sub-zero yields on 10-year corporate bonds from Nestle SA; A 100-year Austria bond trading at more than twice its face value; Record low yields on 30-year Treasuries — For fund managers trying to navigate the fixed-income universe, the bond market’s reaction to the prospect of a recession makes life more treacherous every day. Investors see ...

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• 21 August

  BHP should stand pat on copper mining

  

  All major miners agree that copper has a bright future. The trouble is how to get at it. Take BHP Group, set to be the world’s biggest producer this year after Freeport-McMoRan Inc. sold down its stake in Indonesia’s Grasberg mine. Costs at BHP’s massive Escondida pit in Chile, which accounts for about one in 20 tons of copper mined ...

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• 21 August

  The last thing banks need is even lower rates

  

  It’s generally accepted that one of the keys to a healthy economy is a robust banking system. For some reason, though, central banks seem intent on doing everything in their power to make it as hard as possible for banks around the world to thrive. And so now, as they embark on a fresh round of monetary policy easing to ...

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• 21 August

  US futures, Europe stocks climb; Treasuries decline

  

  Bloomberg US equity futures climbed with European stocks after a mixed session in Asia as investors assessed the latest news on trade and awaited more clues on monetary policy. Treasury yields ticked higher after retreating earlier. Contracts on the three main US equity gauges advanced a day after the S&P 500 Index closed lower as US President Donald Trump showed ...

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